NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 34
Chapter 34 With a chilling thought, the Duke looked down at the bottle in his hand. There was a tiny mark on the mouth of the bottle, visible only when the cap was removed.‘This mark on the original bottle…’Suddenly, the Duke raised his head. The maid was staring at Duke and smiling.Like a stupid animal caught in a trap.‘You…! You switched the bottle!’“Ugh!”The next moment, the Duke immediately bowed his head and vomited.Duke Spiegel grabbed his chest and started rolling on the floor. It felt like his heart was burning.“What is all this commotion?”The Emperor’s voice came in, unhappy. Caesar shrugged nonchalantly.“It looks like it has poison inside. The Duke was trying to kill me.”Poison. The poison.The poison was mentioned from the Crown Prince’s mouth. The atmosphere in the banquet hall stiffened.“Assassination… assassination attempt!”The guards came out all at once.They drew their swords and surrounded the Duke in a circle.“Ugh…. wh-what? no!”The Duke, who was rolling around on the floor, hurriedly clapped his hands.“Doctor, get a doctor, quickly… ugh!”The soldiers backed away, wincing at the vomit that soaked the floor.Caesar rose from his seat and took a step toward the Duke. He lightly broke through the soldiers and squatted down in front of the Duke.“Look, Duke.”“Ugh… You-your highness”“You tried to kill me.”“Yes? yes?”“Why did you do that?”“No, no! Your Majesty! That bitch…!”Duke Spiegel hurriedly looked around.But the maid who had stood at his side only moments ago was nowhere to be seen.“Bitch?”Caesar looked at the direction the Duke was pointing, and smiled.“Did you just call the Empress a bitch now?”“Yes… pardon?! What…”“Or the Princess?”“No, no, Your Majesty! no!”“If not that, then where is the woman you are pointing at?”“Ah, ah, until now, obviously….”Duke Spiegel realized it was all over. An assassination attempt on an imperial family member would never be forgiven in any country. Not even in an empire where the imperial power had fallen to the ground.In the worst case, he would lose his life, and if not that, he would be stripped of his title.‘What should I do?’The Duke’s head turned quickly. How can he get out of this crisis?No, first, he needed an antidote now. If he had indeed been poisoned, he would be dead within minutes.‘Time, let’s take the time. Save my life first, and then…’Saliva dripped from the Duke’s face, along with vomit. There were tears, too.As Caesar watched, he leaned a little closer to the duke and whispered.“Can you afford to cry now? If this is poison, you may die soon.”“I, Your highness.”“Do you want to live?”“Of-of course!”“Then bow your head to the floor and beg for forgiveness. If you do, I will call the best doctor in the palace right now.”“Ugh….”In that case, it was no different than admitting he’s trying to assassination the Crown Prince. But if I didn’t, my life was in danger.‘Let’s live for now. And after that… After that, I’ll make everything up for Ian Bryden!’The worries were brief. Duke Spiegel bowed to the floor with trembling hands.“Please… Please forgive me.”Without hesitation of getting his vomit on his collar, he bowed. ***** An hour before Duke Spiegel’s uproar.I was busy before the second part of the banquet started.The first thing I did was to find a bottle that looked like the one Lavies was holding. It wasn’t difficult, as it was a common bottle in many ways.Inside the bottle was a commonly used stimulant potion. It was an industrial product readily available in the market, with the side effect of pounding the heart.After that, I went back to the banquet hall. For all of this, Caesar’s role was the most important. I had to tell him everything.“Evelyn! Where did you go now?”Devit waved her hand from the table where the maids were gathered.“Hurry over here, I’ve saved you a seat!”“Yes…”Before I knew it, she seemed to think we were friends. Maybe she thinks I’m the most approachable of all the maids.Sitting next to her, I hurriedly looked around instead of eating.‘I need to find Caesar….’“It’s definitely a birthday party, and the food isn’t really a joke.”Devit whispered in my ear, a little loud for a muffled voice. Hearing those words, I looked around the large banquet hall, and at that moment, my eyes met with Caesar.‘Caesar!’Without realizing it, I opened my eyes wide. Caesar glanced around, and his mouth twitched in disbelief.He seemed to have something to say to me, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying from the shape of his mouth.‘What?’I desperately wanted to run to him right away and talk to him.But, of course, Caesar’s table was only occupied by royalty. It was impossible for a mere maid to barge in and ask to speak to him for a moment.Contemplating, I glanced at the magic bracelet I was wearing. Apparently Katana had told me that the blue bead would allow me to use telepathic magic.‘The problem is, won’t Caesar be surprised…’Katana said that telepathic magic requires the two people talking to be on the same wavelength. In other words, it would only work if Caesar was ready to talk to me.‘Still, you have to go for it.’Inserting the blue bead into the bracelet, he looked at Caesar again. Fortunately, he was still looking at me.I clenched my teeth without realizing it, and rChaptereated the same thought in my mind.<Crown Prince, His Majesty the Crown Prince, His Majesty the Crown Prince… Can you hear me, Your highness? Your highness, Your highness, Your highness, Your highness, Your highness…>It was a moment of persistent muttering.<Noisy.>“Ah!”I gasped, startled by the low voice ringing in my head.“What is it, what’s wrong, did you chew something weird?”Devit, sitting next to me, looked at me with puzzled eyes. I hurriedly waved my hand.“Oh, no. don’t mind.”<Is it… working? Is it working? Can you hear me?><You’re the one who spoke first, so why are you freaking out?>Caesar was still looking at me with a blank expression. No one could tell that he was talking in his head.<Your highness, how are you so skilled?><Because I often did it during swordsmanship training. How do you have a telepathic stone?><Ah, it’s not a telepathic stone…><Hmm… A girl with yellow hair?>Caesar must have read the image of the katana that automatically appeared in my mind. Apparently, with the telepathic connection, he could read my entire mind if I messed up.<It’s not as easy as you think…><Who is that child?><That’s… That’s not important right now, I have something to tell you!>I quickly changed the subject. After a short break after eating, the second part started immediately. I didn’t have time to waste on chatter like this.<What is it? Does it have something to do with the fact that I haven’t seen you in the ballroom until now?><That’s right! Actually…>I quickly explained what happened so far.That Duke Spiegel is plotting a scheming, and that I will change the bottle to stop it, so if the Duke comes out in the second part, he will induce him to drink the potion.Caesar seemed to have a lot of questions about what I was talking about, and how I knew all this.I wondered if he even understood my sudden outburst.<Your highness, are you listening?><Yes.><I know it’s hard to believe. but-><I believe you.><Yes?>I stammered, dumbfounded by his unexpectedly firm words. Caesar continued, as if it didn’t matter.<Don’t worry. I will believe whatever you say.>Caesar looked at me, his eyes deep and sincere despite the distance.After a moment of blank stare, I hastily removed the magic bracelet. Caesar’s brow furrowed slightly at the sudden break in telepathy.But I bowed my head and avoided Caesar’s gaze.“Evelyn, are you sick? your face is red.”Devit poked me in the side and asked.“Oh, no, nothing like that.”I glanced up, and Caesar was still staring in my direction.‘What’s wrong?’Perhaps, as if asking that question, she licked her lips.His lips pursed, as if to ask.I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. I knew I couldn’t be telepathic now that I’d removed the bracelet, but I was afraid he could read my mind.A feeling that appeared and disappeared for a brief moment, that even I did not know the name of. ***** After that, everything went smoothly. Erinne brought the imperial palace certification stamp as I requested.I sealed the glass jar with wax and stamped the seal firmly. Then all I had to do was time it right and bump into Duke Spiegel with my overstuffed suitcase.“Ugh!”And a second later. I fell over him, fumbled in his arms, and swapped bottles. I screamed loudly, and I didn’t forget to make a fuss.“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Your Excellency, are you okay, are you okay, are you okay!”I was trying to imprint my face on the Duke.